Justice News

Louisiana Man Sentenced to 6 Years in Prison After Pleading Guilty to Possession of Child Pornography

U.S. Attorney, Kenneth A. Polite announced that ERIN PITRE, age 37, of Cut Off, Louisiana, was sentenced today after previously pleading guilty to possessing images and videos depicting the sexual exploitation of children under the age of twelve-years old.

U.S. District Judge Mary Ann Vial Lemmon sentenced PITRE to 72 months in prison, to be followed by ten years of supervised release. PITRE was also ordered to pay both victims $1,500 each in restitution. Additionally, the Court ordered PITRE to register as a sex offender.

According to court documents, law enforcement officials executed a search warrant at PITRE’S residence on January 22, 2015, during which time they seized an external digital storage device that contained images and videos of child pornography. A forensic examination of the device revealed that PITRE used peer-to-peer file sharing programs on his computer to search for, download, and store images and videos of children as young as two-years-old engaging in sexually explicit conduct. The forensic examination determined that PITRE possessed approximately 185 images and 7 videos of children engaging in sexually explicit conduct. This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice. Led by United States Attorney’s Offices and the Criminal Division's Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section (CEOS), Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state and local resources to better locate, apprehend and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the Internet, as well as to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.projectsafechildhood.gov.

U.S. Attorney Polite praised the work of the Federal Bureau of Investigation is investigating this matter. Assistant U.S. Attorney Jordan Ginsberg was in charge of the prosecution.

If you believe you have been a victim of fraud from a person or an organization soliciting relief funds on behalf of storm victims or have knowledge of waste, abuse, or allegations of mismanagement involving disaster relief operations, contact the National Center for Disaster Fraud toll free at: (866) 720-5721. You can also fax information to: (225) 334-4707 or e-mail it to: disaster@leo.gov

Help us combat the proliferation of sexual exploitation crimes against children.